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thanateNot dead. I keep meaning to write something, but I think my brain has presently unglued itself to the point of bullet points or nothing. Hence, bullet points:
*It is difficult to work on "super secret" presents in a craft room with no door, directly at the top of the stairs.
*I keep ending up in situations where I'm surrounded by other people complaining bitterly about an absent party. Usually for good cause, but I'm starting to wonder... there is a point, I think, where sharing information and/or warning others about a potential problem is useful. There's also very much a point where it devolves into maliciousness and dustballing, and only makes the problem worse to deal with later. Which raises the question: how do you tell when you've hit that point? Also, as mainly an outside observer, is there any way I can say, "look, can we talk about something a little less defamatory?" without being offensive or revoking my gossip rights.
*It has occurred to me that the proper phrasing of one of the things people keep yelling at me about in fencing goes thus: If I want to be closer to a person, so that I can hit [him], and said person steps closer to me, there is a part of my brain which says "yes, this is progress; I should be able to turn it to my advantage." Older and wiser and better people tell me that it is not at all useful, and more likely to get me hit. Evidence points to their often being right, but this has yet to stop my subconscious from telling me that a change in conditions that I am a) aware of and b) wished to come about should be of benefit to me even when someone else has initiated it.
*I have several short story kernels hovering in my back-brain, but none of them have conveniently turned up enough plot to write yet. One may yet involve Junior High young mad scientists and glitter, but that remains to be seen.
*Saturday included a lovely visit to Longwood Gardens (complete with excellent hot chocolate and award winning cream of mushroom soup) and one of the conversations at dinner has made me once again consider recording the mouse carols (Slime molds from the realms of glory, Tree frogs we have heard on high, etc) Also, I have purchased a packet of slow-bolt cilantro seeds, in the hopes that growing my own will result in edible cilantro without the second half of the bag melting into green slime overnight.
*Finished reading Meji book 2, in which the copy editing is far better and the story continues epic. I was slightly disappointed that it had the same odd end twist as the last book about twins-separated-at-birth that I read, although as a) I can't remember what that book was called (I think I picked it up as a teen because it had a winged horse on the cover...), and b) they are otherwise entirely unrelated, this is a rather silly complaint.
*Have also started Mansfield Park & Mummies, which reads very much like something that![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
heuchera and I would have come up with in the grasp of paper writing procrastination, particularly if the vortex-that-is-Alison and the various other OGASP/marching band types had gotten in on the execution of it. Mostly a very light touch on the humor, and appropriately absurd.
*Still working on the stairs. But there is visible progress, despite my having re-varnished in bits of ancient silver square-cut glitter that appear to have been varnished in at the last re-varnishing. They're about half-way up the dark part of the steps, though, so not too obvious.
*Contemplating the iniquity of making more brownies or somesuch. It is too near the solstice to want to be awake.
*Instead, I am about to go and make a melty cheese sandwich, with steak sauce and cut bits of raw mushrooms in the middle. It sounds rather odd, but I tried it on a whim and was favorably impressed. Better than peanut butter and pickle. (not, admittedly, that that one was so good...)
*It is difficult to work on "super secret" presents in a craft room with no door, directly at the top of the stairs.
*I keep ending up in situations where I'm surrounded by other people complaining bitterly about an absent party. Usually for good cause, but I'm starting to wonder... there is a point, I think, where sharing information and/or warning others about a potential problem is useful. There's also very much a point where it devolves into maliciousness and dustballing, and only makes the problem worse to deal with later. Which raises the question: how do you tell when you've hit that point? Also, as mainly an outside observer, is there any way I can say, "look, can we talk about something a little less defamatory?" without being offensive or revoking my gossip rights.
*It has occurred to me that the proper phrasing of one of the things people keep yelling at me about in fencing goes thus: If I want to be closer to a person, so that I can hit [him], and said person steps closer to me, there is a part of my brain which says "yes, this is progress; I should be able to turn it to my advantage." Older and wiser and better people tell me that it is not at all useful, and more likely to get me hit. Evidence points to their often being right, but this has yet to stop my subconscious from telling me that a change in conditions that I am a) aware of and b) wished to come about should be of benefit to me even when someone else has initiated it.
*I have several short story kernels hovering in my back-brain, but none of them have conveniently turned up enough plot to write yet. One may yet involve Junior High young mad scientists and glitter, but that remains to be seen.
*Saturday included a lovely visit to Longwood Gardens (complete with excellent hot chocolate and award winning cream of mushroom soup) and one of the conversations at dinner has made me once again consider recording the mouse carols (Slime molds from the realms of glory, Tree frogs we have heard on high, etc) Also, I have purchased a packet of slow-bolt cilantro seeds, in the hopes that growing my own will result in edible cilantro without the second half of the bag melting into green slime overnight.
*Finished reading Meji book 2, in which the copy editing is far better and the story continues epic. I was slightly disappointed that it had the same odd end twist as the last book about twins-separated-at-birth that I read, although as a) I can't remember what that book was called (I think I picked it up as a teen because it had a winged horse on the cover...), and b) they are otherwise entirely unrelated, this is a rather silly complaint.
*Have also started Mansfield Park & Mummies, which reads very much like something that
heuchera and I would have come up with in the grasp of paper writing procrastination, particularly if the vortex-that-is-Alison and the various other OGASP/marching band types had gotten in on the execution of it. Mostly a very light touch on the humor, and appropriately absurd. *Still working on the stairs. But there is visible progress, despite my having re-varnished in bits of ancient silver square-cut glitter that appear to have been varnished in at the last re-varnishing. They're about half-way up the dark part of the steps, though, so not too obvious.
*Contemplating the iniquity of making more brownies or somesuch. It is too near the solstice to want to be awake.
*Instead, I am about to go and make a melty cheese sandwich, with steak sauce and cut bits of raw mushrooms in the middle. It sounds rather odd, but I tried it on a whim and was favorably impressed. Better than peanut butter and pickle. (not, admittedly, that that one was so good...)
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no subject
Date: 2009-12-15 09:02 pm (UTC)Re: defamatory conversations. Depending on the context, if I am getting uncomfortable with how the talk is going I will either say something good about the person in question, or say something direct about the comments being mean-spirited and inappropriate, or just change the subject to something completely random ("Hey! I'm going to Longwood this weekend! Have you been there recently?").
Go make brownies now so I can enjoy them from afar. Um.
no subject
Date: 2009-12-15 10:33 pm (UTC)I do recommend the Mummies, but (while I have finished my Christmas knitting, all one tiny project of it) I quite understand the lack of reading time. I've been catching a chapter with lunch and then exercising great restraint and putting it down again.
I have resisted the siren call of brownies in favor of something resembling biscuits, since I just talked to my mother and in the course of the conversation was reminded that I have far too many boxes of baking mix taking up shelf space in the pantry.
no subject
Date: 2009-12-16 05:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-16 06:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-16 06:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-16 10:34 pm (UTC)